First, if you haven’t read We Were Liars go do that immediately. 

Once that is complete, it’s time to check out this amazing prequel. After absolutely loving We Were Liars, I was excited to read this book and went in with high expectations. This can often be a recipe for disappointment, but Family of Liars completely delivers. 

This book is told from the point of view of Carrie, one of four daughters of Tipper and Harris Sinclair. Harris Sinclair is perhaps richer than God and the family owns an island near Martha’s Vineyard. All the family spends every summer on the island and this particular summer in the 1970s, they are also joined by a few male friends. 

The male friends bring out competition in the Sinclair daughters, but there is also the grief over the death of the youngest sister. It becomes a concoction of emotions and drugs that overwhelm Carrie. The story builds to a terrible event that must be handled by the daughters. 

I don’t want to give much away about the plot but I will say that E. Lockhart has definitely grown as a writer; I felt so connected to all of the characters and the setting. I also think that this novel showed more perspective about the privilege of this family than the original novel. I was pleased to see that shift while maintaining the air of private island level affluence that makes this story so compelling. 

This is the kind of book that made me remember why I read, just read it. I think you’ll be glad you did.